was the limit. that really was her view. it made me think i could do anything. i did go to law school. in the early 1980's when i got out of law school, i went back to tennessee to practice. i was going around to law firms. there were not that many women in the law firms. i had guys interview me. they would sit me down and say, do you understand you have to try cases? >> [laughter] >> i said that is what i wanted to do and was excited about it. i have clients in the beginning, i would go in to meet them. afterwards, one of my partners would say that they say that was not what i expected. he did not know there was going to be a lady lawyer on this case. but i really liked trying cases. it was a lot of fun. then i was drawn into politics. throughout my career, i have been interested in how to change things for the better. i have been very fortunate to have lots of opportunities to serve. >> you mentioned your mother. your mother died of lung cancer. she was such a force in your life. >> i think it made me very strong because it was very clear i had no one to depend on but me. >>

years. here we are today, december 19, and these law changes which i referenced earlier, the end of the bush era tax cuts, the dreaded sequester, across the board cuts of $1.2 trillion in spending will begin to take effect the first of next year. the good news is the white house and republicans have been trading proposals and at least yesterday appeared to be moving closer together. i would have much preferred that they would be talking about a bigger package than they've discussed but nonetheless to reach a package that would resolve some of these issues would be an important step forward and i think help promote certainty that would be important to our economy. on the revenue side of the equation, i just want to remind you what it's taken in the past to balance the budget. we hear talk on average revenue is in the 18% of g.d.p. range n. getting back to average you will should be sufficient. the problem with that is we have never balanced the budget in the last 50 years based on 18% of g.d.p. in revenue. balancedtimes we've going back to 1969, you can see that revenue has been about 20

sure that there ideas are not stolen either. rule of law, transparency, a neutral legal system -- how much time do you spend on piracy issues? -- system? >> how much time do you spend on piracy issues? >> a lot of time. the president was very clear the drive got to enforce the rules to insure fairness. china has benefited enormously from its secession from the wto. if we and united states are ever to have additional trade agreements with other countries, the american people and american congress have to believe that we will make sure that when we lower barriers and open our markets to companies from other countries, but those other countries will also do the same for america. that is why the president was very clear in the campaign. we're going to hold other countries feet to the fire to ensure a level playing field. >> do you think this is something that chinese leaders respond to? >> yes. the chinese leaders will try to give a push and see if you back up. and if you do, they will give you another push. they do respect strength. at some point you have to say, we cannot back up